


Words Hurt

by emo_trashcan



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Apologies, Bisexual, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Insults, Love Confession, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Name Calling, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27611288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emo_trashcan/pseuds/emo_trashcan
Summary: Merlin is tired of Arthur’s insults. They’re actually getting to him. ꧁Fluffy ending꧂
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 173





	Words Hurt

**Author's Note:**

> I swear this has a happy ending. Thanks to everyone who reads and gives kudos! Hopefully there will be more Merthur stories on the way. 
> 
> Edits made for grammar corrections and typos.

“Useless”  
“Idiot”  
“Lazy”  
“Annoying”  
“Childish”  
“Stupid”  
“Coward”  
These were all things Arthur had called Merlin in their time together. To be fair, Merlin would lash back with some sort of insult of his own, but it didn’t erase the negative feelings he’d acquire after being degraded. What made it hurt worse was the fact that the manservant was positively in love with the prince. He tried to repress his feelings for a long time, but they inevitably broke loose and consumed his mind. It was all torture. 

After a while, Merlin just succumbed to the fact that Arthur would never return his feelings and would keep insulting him until the day he died. Besides, what else could Merlin do about the matter? Two men could never be together anyway, much less a servant and a royal. 

“Merlin! Get your head out of the clouds and help me get dressed,” Arthur commanded. 

“Right. Sorry, sire.” 

Merlin quickly left the window sill and approached the prince, helping him get ready for the day. Arthur had been particularly demanding the past few weeks for some reason, and Merlin decided he must be doing something to bother him. 

“I need you to change the bedding and wash the floors today. This place is starting to get filthy again. Why can’t you just do a better job of maintaining the cleanliness?” 

“I do try, Arthur. It’s not like your room is the only place I have to do chores,” Merlin retorted. It was tiring to be constantly put down by the person he loved. Nothing he ever did was good enough. 

“Well try harder then,” the blonde replied. Merlin just nodded with a sigh. 

The day went on as usual. The chores never got any easier, but Merlin was used to the labor. He barely got any time to eat before being called upon by the prince to do another task. That’s how it went every day. That night, Merlin did his routinely check-in with Arthur to make sure there was nothing else needed of him. 

“Is that all, my lord?” he asked once the fireplace was lit. Arthur seemed to grimace at the title but mentioned nothing of it when he answered. 

“Yes, you are dismissed. Tomorrow I’ll give you a real list of chores to do. That’ll keep you from messing around. Goodnight.” 

Merlin restrained himself from rolling his eyes and turned around to leave. 

“Goodnight, sire.” 

As he walked back to his chambers, Merlin tried to rub the knots out of his aching shoulders. Why couldn’t Arthur give him any credit? Why couldn’t he at least acknowledge the fact that Merlin didn’t even get free time, much less “mess around” during the day. Maybe he was doing it just to be an ass. 

Merlin flopped onto his uncomfortable bed and let out an exhausted groan. Not only did his body hurt but his heart hurt too. He just wanted to be appreciated. It almost felt like nobody cared about him, but he knew that couldn’t be true… could it?

*** 

The next morning, Merlin made a terrible mistake; he slept in. It was entirely involuntary since he just hadn’t been getting much rest recently, but it didn’t matter to Arthur. Being late was unacceptable without a proper excuse. Sleep deprivation wasn’t a good enough explanation, apparently. 

“You lazy idiot! Do you expect me to dress myself and retrieve my own breakfast? Those are not the duties of a prince,” Arthur snarled in annoyance. He clearly didn’t wake up in a good mood. 

“Again, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep in, it just happened. I won’t do it again,” Merlin replied, trying to stay calm. 

“You better not. I’m dealing with enough as it is, can’t you try a little harder?” 

“Do you even know how much I do in a day? I’m trying my best to do all you ask! It’s not my fault that I need to sleep,” Merlin growled. 

“Fine, just go do your chores. I have a lot of paper work to do,” Arthur grumbled, dropping the discussion. 

Merlin let out a breath and left the room quickly. This was getting to be too much. He needed a break. Unfortunately, Prince Clotpole wasn’t going to give him one. The chores that day seemed to drag on forever, but Arthur never beckoned for him. He probably just didn’t want to see Merlin. Ouch. 

The manservant made his way to the stables to feed the horses and looked around the bustling kingdom. Children were running about, chasing each other and playing games. Townsfolk were conversing and fetching water from the well. It was a lovely day, but Merlin just couldn’t enjoy it when he felt so burdened by Arthur’s constantly nagging words. It was really bringing his self esteem down, and it was low enough to begin with. 

He knew he shouldn’t let that prat’s revilement get to him, but he couldn’t help it. Merlin was already going through loads of stress and fear due to hiding his magic and trying to protect everyone, so he really didn’t need the one person he truly cared for to continuously offend him. 

All of the pent up emotions inside of Merlin seemed like they may burst out at any moment. Tears filled his eyes and he tried to stop the sob that escaped his lips but failed. He felt stupid for crying, but it didn’t matter since he was now alone in the stables. He put his back against the wall and slid down to sit on the dirt floor, covering his face as the tears slipped down his cheeks. 

Why him? Why did Merlin have to love the prince, of all people? The feelings could never be reciprocated and even if they were, two men could never get married to each other while Uther was king. Arthur was going to wed a pretty woman some day and they’d live their lives happily, leaving Merlin out of the picture. He felt foolish for being jealous of ladies that Arthur flirted with, but it hurt so much. 

It was only a few minutes later that he heard someone enter the stables, calling his name worriedly. 

Of course it was Arthur. 

“Merlin! Merlin, are you alright?”

The warlock quickly attempted to wipe his eyes and stood up, trying not to blush in embarrassment. 

“I-I’m fine, sire.” 

Arthur walked toward him and gazed at him with concern. 

“No, you clearly are not. Did something happen?” 

Merlin couldn’t look the prince in the eyes. How was he supposed to explain this? 

“Nothing happened. Everything’s okay, really. What are you doing here?” he asked, trying to switch the subject. Now it was Arthur’s turn to blush. 

“Well, I was looking for you because… uh, I needed to tell you… well, I… I wanted to apologize for snapping at you this morning. It was inconsiderate of me. That’s all.” 

Merlin looked at him with confusion. Arthur Pendragon was apologizing? To Merlin? For being inconsiderate? 

“Why would you apologize for being mad? And why come all the way out to find me? You’re the prince. I’m just a servant,” Merlin stated with lowliness. Arthur winced. 

“Please, don’t say that ever again. I realize that I’ve said a lot of rude things to you, and I can see why you’d think that you don’t mean much to me, but I can assure you that it is the complete opposite. I know how hard you work and I’ve seen how tired you are. I have no right to call you lazy or useless because you’re not. I never meant any of those things, I swear. Nothing excuses my behavior, but I would like to explain why I acted that way, if you’ll listen,” the blonde said. Something in his voice sounded like respect. 

Merlin sat in stunned silence. It never occurred to him that Arthur payed that much attention to him, much less appreciated him. Slowly, the raven-haired boy nodded. 

“I’ll listen.”

Arthur let out a breath. 

“Okay. This... this may be a lot to spring on you, but I need you to know. The reason I’m rude to you is because I’m dreadful at expressing my feelings. I’ve also been very pressured recently by my father and I took out my frustrations on you, which was unfair. I’ve never had someone treat me like you do. Like an equal, a person. I discovered after a while that I have… um, I have feelings for you, and I don’t at all expect you to feel the same way, I just wanted to explain why I was acting the way I was and I’m really sorry for it.” 

The prince exhaled deeply and looked down in shame. Merlin couldn’t breathe. His heart was pounding in his chest and his thoughts were racing. It took a full minute for him to finally say something. 

“You… you have feelings for me? Why on Earth would you have feelings for me? And to think I was convinced you hated me!“ 

Merlin was to the point of shock and almost hysteria. This was ridiculous. He’d been hiding his emotions for so long and now he finds out that Arthur felt the same way all along? All the insults, all the mocking… it was all just covering up Arthur’s love for him? How utterly ridiculous. He couldn’t believe it. 

“You thought I hated you? Oh, Lord, I’m sorry, Merlin. I didn’t mean to- why are you crying? Oh no, I’ve made you cry,” Arthur looked a bit panicked and got closer to his servant, not quite sure of what to do. 

Merlin put a hand over his mouth and tried willing himself to calm down. All of the feelings he’d trapped inside were flooding out all at once and he couldn’t do a thing to stop it. All he could say was, “I have feelings for you, too.” 

That single sentence seemed to force Arthur’s awkwardness down and a look of realization took over his face. Then he wrapped his companion in a warm embrace. They sat there for a while until Merlin stopped crying. 

“I’m sorry,” was the first thing he said. 

“Sorry for what?” Arthur asked, pulling away to look into the other’s eyes. 

“For crying and being a mess,” Merlin replied sheepishly. 

“Don’t apologize for that. You’ve done nothing wrong. Besides, I’m the one who came here to apologize.” 

“It’s alright, I forgive you, Arthur. I’m just glad you don’t hate me,” Merlin said with a small smile. 

“I could never. You don’t need to think that ever again,” Arthur murmured. Their eyes were locked in a loving gaze and they found their lips inches apart. 

“May I?” the prince requested softly. Merlin answered the question by closing the gap between them. The kiss was sweet and slow, filled with extreme care. 

It was everything they needed to mend their relationship, speaking words inaudibly. When they finally separated, they were both beaming at the other. 

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” Merlin whispered. Arthur just nodded in agreement, looking dazed. There was a moment of silence before Merlin spoke again. 

“What happens now? If the king ever found out-“

Arthur cut him off. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t let him do anything to you. There are definitely some obstacles in the way of us being a couple, but in time we can work it out. I promise.” 

Merlin smiled and nodded. He knew it wouldn’t be that simple, but Arthur was by his side, and that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, this one was kinda short and crappy but oh well.


End file.
